Group photo at El Cap, the one rock to rule them all.
For the second half we stayed at another UC field station, the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory (SNARL) near Convict Lake. Things were a little different here as we had to work between three different facilities and self-cater. Being in a more accessible location meant that we could usually leave camp at the more civilized hour of 8am rather than much earlier. This second half also had projects more experimental in nature that I was quite curious to see how the students would react to. We also had a bit more flexibility with what we could do with our time, which meant more "fun" geology to even out the pain of the first half.
We had a glacial geomorphology project mapping the relative ages of moraines in our Convict Lake backyard. We did a tectonic geomorphology project looking at the classic Hilton Creek Fault at McGee Creek and taking our UAV for a test drive to create structure from motion models. This was basically the first time I flew the thing, which ended up being pretty stressful given my low skill, the uneven terrain, and a pesky wind. The students seemed to enjoy playing around with structure from motion and came up with some really interesting models.
The students were needing a break (even though the 4th of July was a day away) so we took them on a grand tour of some of the classic geological locales before we got into our next big project. In one action-packed day we went to the South Mono Lake Tufa, Panum Crater, Obsidian Dome, Inyo Craters, Earthquake Fault (a volcanic fissure), Horseshoe Lake, and then ended with a refreshing visit to Hot Creek. It was a good day!
Next up was the two-day Black Point project which I thoroughly enjoyed (even if I spent half of one of the days in the car grading). This is a fascinating subaqueous to subaerial volcano that, thanks to the now lower Mono Lake, is well exposed and perfect for teaching students how to map lithofacies. And how complicated explosive volcanoes can be! Black Point features several spectacular and wonderfully confusing outcrops and a really interesting fissure system which provides a nice lunch break from the heat. It's quite a scenic spot too with unhindered views of the Sierra Front and the islands in Mono Lake.
Black Point fissures / lunch spot
Many of our students have probably never even heard the word "geotechnical," despite it being one of the more viable professions they could go into if they choose to stay locally. To give them a small taste I tried to design a project looking at rock slope failures along a road which would use some of their existing stereonet experience while also teaching them new applications. I chose the Middle Owens River Gorge because of its tall and diverse outcrops, persistent failure problems, and mostly importantly, the road is gated so untraveled other than the occasional slow moving LADWP vehicle. This worked well...but would have worked much better if I had the foresight to put the fieldwork in the afternoon when the road would be in the shade rather than baking heat. We got some nice validation when a LADWP employee stopped to chat and said he was glad that we were doing that project and that they have had frequent rockfall problems on the road, possibly requiring expensive engineering to remedy. This project has one of the greatest potentials for improvement.
The Crowley Lake Mystery Project (as described in the previous post) was a big hit. We just turned the students loose to observe while I observed further along the coast in my packraft. The much more controlled setting meant that several students were able to test fly the UAV with low risk which they enjoyed. A definite highlight was swimming in the warm lakewaters while looking at the columns and having a back and forth discussion of their formation theories.
Nest up was the two day Gull Lake project to look at metamorphic roof pendant rocks near June Lake. This was a particularly scenic area with trees, lakes, and snowy peaks, but also lichen-covered rocks that seemed to challenge our students. I got pretty burnt out on student enthusiasm and capability on this project and ended up sitting the second day out to do grading instead. As a shorter day we took the students to the Antelope Kaolinite Mine, which ended up being incredibly fascinating. Lake sediments hydrothermally altered by volcanism to create some very interesting textures.
After learning that only three of the students had been to Yosemite before, I worked to re-arrange the schedule and got the Park Geologist to kindly agree to highlight some of the active and relevant research in the valley, particularly studying glaciations, rockfalls, and floods. We then drove out of the valley and took a short hike with a detour to a "secret" natural waterslide across granite slickrock. This was a big hit. I probably got about fifty slides in. Lastly we stopped at Pothole Dome for a great view over Tuolumne Meadows. I was impressed most of the class fearlessly stormed up the steep granite slabs to the top.
We had intended to take students up to the Champion Mine to do an economic geology project but the combination of late start, hot day, and out of shape students derailed my plans. With some effort we managed to coerce all the students up to Black Eagle Camp where we gave them a chance to explore, relax, and then discuss a little of the mining history before it was time to turn back around. Many of the students surprised me by suggesting they would have been interested in an overnight trip, which could be a great idea for next year. With my ever refining eyes for rock avalanche textures I spotted some surprisingly large deposits so I got something out of it too.
The last day we wanted to end on a slight bang. We were able to get gondola rides up to the top of Mammoth Mountain (another first for many students), where incredibly we could see almost everywhere we had been the last month, from Mono Lake to White Mountain. It was a perfect overview to recap that last month's journey and give them a new perspective on all the smaller scale projects they worked on. It was also a great opportunity for an epic snowball fight! Next we drove on to Devils Postpile to enjoy the glacially polished columns, and then another hike on to Rainbow Falls. We ended the evening at Wild Willy's Hot Springs. After that there was little to do other than start cleaning and packing!
There were highs and lows (mostly highs though). I learned a lot, and I think the students learned even more. It was a great experiment with huge demands on my time, but I did come away feeling it was a necessary endeavor. Not only to challenge them and give them a capstone experience, but also to get a gauge on what our majors get out of their degree and what improvements we can make. Thanks to the Summer Field 2016 group for the memories.
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